The Cost of Overhiring: What I Learned Building and Cutting a 260-Person Team

In this episode, real estate investors struggling with team growth get the brutal truth about scaling from Ivo Draginov's $36M exit story.

Ivo Draginov went from Bulgarian immigrant plumber to building a 260-person real estate tech company that sold for millions. But here's the twist—when he was forced to cut 220 employees, his company actually became MORE productive.

Brandon Bateman sits down with the founder of Batch Leads and Batch Dialer to break down the brutal truths about scaling real estate businesses. Ivo shares the costly mistakes that nearly bankrupted his profitable company, how to spot A-players versus order-takers in interviews, and why staying lean might be better than chasing massive growth.

Whether you're running a 3-person fix-and-flip operation or managing a 20+ person wholesaling machine, this conversation will change how you think about hiring, scaling, and building sustainable real estate businesses. 💡

📖 What You'll Learn:

• The difference between strategic thinkers and order-takers (and how to spot each in 15 minutes)
• Why over-hiring killed their profit margins despite $36M in revenue
• How to structure titles and roles when scaling to avoid costly mistakes
• The exact framework for deciding when to cut team members vs. double down
• Why 40 employees can be more productive than 260 (real case study)
• How to avoid the "moving goalpost" trap that keeps entrepreneurs always wanting more 📈

🕐 Time Stamps: 
00:02 - From Bulgarian Immigrant to Real Estate Mogul 
03:02 - Building Batch Leads: The Software That Changed Everything
05:00 - First Exit: Selling to PropStream for Millions 
07:08 - To Scale or Stay Small: The Ultimate Business Dilemma 
12:24 - The Hidden Costs of Rapid Growth 
18:35 - Cutting From Wholesale to Software: Strategic Pivot 
23:16 - Hiring Mistakes That Cost Millions 
29:28 - How to Spot A-Players vs Order-Takers 
36:50 - When Good Employees Become Growth Bottlenecks 
42:24 - Crisis Management: Losing Key Team Members 
44:39 - The CEO's Hardest Job: Defining Reality 
49:43 - Over-Hiring Trap: When More People = Less Results 
57:48 - What's Next: Batch Data and Serving Enterprise Clients

#RealEstateInvesting #Wholesaling #RealEstateBusiness #TeamBuilding #Scaling #RealEstateEntrepreneur #FixAndFlip #PropertyInvesting #BusinessGrowth #RealEstateMarketing #Hiring #Leadership #RealEstateTech #BatchLeads #PropTech

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